Welcoming the Stranger: Myal Greene on the Church and the Global Refugee Crisis
Good Faith
Good Faith
5 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 13 November 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A Christian Case For Why Refugees Matter
Host Curtis Chang sits down with Myal Greene, President & CEO of World Relief, to discuss the global refugee crisis, U.S. immigration policy, and how the church can lead the way in offering hope, welcome, and advocacy. Greene explains what defines a refugee, why record numbers are displaced worldwide, and how faith communities—from the Vietnamese boatlift era to modern Good Neighbor Teams—have transformed lives through radical hospitality. Together, they unpack the biblical call to "welcome the stranger", explore how refugees strengthen churches, and share practical ways to get involved through initiatives like World Relief's Churches of Welcome.
(02:11) - What Is a Refugee?
(08:31) - The U.S. Churches' Historical Role in Resettlement
(14:22) - The Christian Case For Helping Refugees
(23:26) - Christians Are Immigrants
(29:20) - The Ramifications of Policy Changes
(43:15) - A Final Word from Myal Greene
Episode Guide for Personal and Group Study
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Mentioned In This Episode:
- 2025 Evangelical Views on Immigration Study (Lifeway Research)
- Notre Dame Study on the Economic Benefits of Refugees in America
- Learn about Vietnamese Boat Crisis & Boat People
- What is the Refugee Act of 1980
- Facts about Afghan Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs)
- Learn More about Evelyn Mangham
- Learn more about National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
Scripture Mentioned:
- Matthew 25:35-36 (ESV)
- Leviticus 23:22 (ESV)
- Luke 10:25–37; Matthew 25:34–40; James 1:27 (ESV) - The Good Samaritan
More From Myal Greene and World Relief:
- Learn more about World Relief
- Become a World Relief Volunteer
- Join World Relief's Good Neighbor Teams
- Give to Open Doors (Organization collaborating with World Relief)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | There was kind of a small window over the last few years, even though the formal refugee resettlement |
| 0:06.1 | program was closed, individuals who were from Afghanistan and had SIV visas, the special |
| 0:11.7 | immigrant visas. These are individuals who had helped the US government did have a way in certain |
| 0:16.9 | circumstances to come to this country, but they had to pay their own way. There was no payment for that. And so we've seen close to 20 churches around the country who have said, |
| 0:24.7 | just pair me with any family who can legally come, will buy their plane ticket, we'll set them up |
| 0:29.0 | an apartment, we'll welcome them into our homes. And it's been very encouraging to see those churches |
| 0:33.9 | step up and to do that and to do that and show that commitment. |
| 0:51.1 | Welcome to the Good Faith podcast. I'm your host, Curtis Chang. |
| 0:53.5 | And the Good Faith podcast is we're friends who follow Jesus help each other make sense of the world. |
| 0:58.8 | The podcast is a production of Redeeming Babel, a 501C3 nonpartisan organization. |
| 1:05.8 | We here at Good Faith are going through a short series on the topic of immigration, where we periodically |
| 1:12.2 | examine different aspects of immigration. We opened by talking about how ice raids are threatening |
| 1:18.3 | local churches, and you can access our conversation with Pastor Paco Amador from Chicago in a recent |
| 1:24.7 | episode. For this episode, we wanted to flip the script and ask how local |
| 1:31.2 | churches can be a positive force in immigration. We want to explore the intersection of local |
| 1:37.2 | churches and a key aspect of immigration, namely our country's response to refugees. |
| 1:49.7 | For this discussion, I'm glad to welcome Myel Green, president and CEO of World Relief, |
| 1:56.1 | a leading Christian agency that, among other tasks, mobilizes local churches to care for refugees. |
| 2:01.9 | Mile has a long history in Christian leadership on this issue and has also had previous experience working in the U.S. government. |
| 2:03.9 | Myel, welcome to the Good Faith podcast. |
| 2:06.2 | That's great to be here. |
| 2:07.5 | Thanks for having me on, Curtis. |
... |
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